Citizens Report Rising Prices of Liquid Gas: Response from the Competition Protection Commission to Auroranews

Recently, Auroranews has received numerous reports from citizens regarding the rising prices of liquid gas. The price of liquid gas has increased by 20 to 30 drams in several places, rising from 220 drams to as much as 250 drams. There are some refueling stations in the city where the prices remain unchanged, but these stations are also reporting that they have run out of gas.

The Public Services Regulatory Commission has stated that this issue is not within their jurisdiction. Auroranews contacted the Competition Protection Commission to understand the reasons behind this price change. The Competition Protection Commission noted that since the liquid gas market is competitive, they do not monitor it closely: 'There are no dominant players, so we do not conduct constant monitoring. However, we are currently observing signals related to liquid gas.'

As for price regulation, the commission does not have the function of regulating pricing policies and only monitors the pricing policies of economic operators in cases where there are signs of potential abuse of a dominant position or anti-competitive agreements. If there are justifications for price increases from dominant operators, the Commission will take appropriate measures.